Yahoo News The Missing series 3: Everything you need to know
"Six, cinq, quatre, trois..."
After eight weeks of twists, turns and much philosophising from Julien Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo), The Missing closed its stellar second series on a cliffhanger - with the fate of its hero left up in the air.
Our pensive French detective finally underwent surgery for a life-threatening brain tumour... and his final word before going under? "Trois" or "three" - a hint at a third run of episodes to come?
Here's everything we know so far about the future of The Missing, Julien's fate and the "skeletons" still left in his closet.
The Missing series 3 episodes: What's the plot?
A third series would, in all likelihood, see Baptiste tackling a new investigation with minimal ties to the show's first two series.
The story would also be dramatically different from either the first series - which followed the hunt for a missing boy, Oliver Hughes - or the second - about two missing girls, one posing as the other.
"[A third series] would have to be very different, and not cynical, and it'd have to be saying something new," series co-creator Harry Williams has said.
Notably, there was an additional moment filmed - but cut - from the final episode of series two, which saw Julien wake from his surgery and ask for Celia.
"We shot, after that, he wakes up and asks, 'where is my wife?' - so it can be open to something else," Karyo explained.
It's feasible that this footage could find its way into the opening of a third series, resolving the small matter of whether Julien survived.
The Missing series 3 release date: When will we get more episodes?
Now, this is important: neither the BBC nor its partner on The Missing, US broadcaster Starz, has officially ordered more episodes.
You might think the Beeb would be desperate for more, given the rave reviews and big ratings for both previous series - and you'd be right. The hold-up, it appears, is purely on the creative side of things.
In fact, Harry Williams - who devised and writes the show with brother Jack - has even told Digital Spy that a third series might not happen at all, if they can't land on the right idea.
[Above: Harry and Jack Williams]
"I think it's possible... there might not be one," he said. "There's Godfather I and Godfather II... and third ones are really hard to get right. The second one's hard, but the third one's even harder and you don't want to leave a bad taste in the mouth.
"But we still don't want to say goodbye to Julien - both the actor and the character is someone we want in our lives in some form or another. It just may take quite a bit of time before we figure out what that is."
Harry and Jack's busy schedule might prove to be another obstacle to more of The Missing: the pair are currently working on a new series, a "noir-ish" thriller told in reverse called Rellik (that's 'killer' backwards).
That's intended to become a returning series, so a lot rests on whether they'll have the time to work on both shows.
The Missing series 3 cast: Who will star in the next series?
If there is a third series, then it's probable that, as with the second series, only Karyo and Anastasia Hille (as Julien's wife Celia) will remain on the show.
So just as James Nesbitt, Frances O'Connor et al left The Missing after eight episodes, again we'll be waving goodbye to Keeley Hawes, Laura Fraser and the rest of series two's supporting cast.
One thing we can be certain of, though: the Williams brothers would never consider making the series without Baptiste, calling him "the heart of the show".
"I know Tony (James Nesbitt) was ostensibly the lead [in series one], but for us, Julien was more the heartbeat of the show, throughout the whole two series," Harry's said.
The Missing series 4 and beyond: What does the future hold?
He might've originally turned down the part of Baptiste, but now it sounds as though Karyo is in it for the long haul. He's even compared Julien to that other famous detective Hercule Poirot, who - as played by David Suchet - enjoyed a run of more than 20 years on television.
"We'll see now if there are more skeletons in the closet," he's said. "It looks like Julien Baptiste is becoming a [popular] figure. We had Hercule Poirot, now it's Julien Baptiste!"
Another possibility is that Julien might land his own spin-off, an entirely new show that wouldn't have to follow The Missing's format of following the hunt for a kidnap victim.
"Is there a world where Baptiste comes back in his own show and it's not The Missing?" Jack Williams posed. "We haven't decided at all, but I think if we found the right form to get us excited again, we'd do it."
In September 2017, the Williams brothers hinted that a spin-off from The Missingwas indeed looking more likely than a straight continuation.
"We want to do something with Tcheky [Karyo, who plays Baptiste] again – we want to keep that character alive," said Harry. "I think we will revisit him in some form or another.
"I'd be leaning towards a spin-off, personally. But God knows what any of the channels think."
Jack added: "This is totally just us talking – but we'd like to see Baptiste again, we'd like to revisit the tone and the feel of that world.
"We don't want to do it, like, 'More missing children!' – but revisiting him, and the feel of The Missing, is something we have started talking about in the last couple of months. So hopefully there may be news on that soon."
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